Beck admits to Q104.3's "Out of the Box" with Jonathan Clarke that he often loses himself in his work. And when hours so frequently turn into weeks, there's nothing like having a live audience dancing and screaming your lyrics back at you: suddenly, you remember why you are where you are.

"That's very surreal. It's interesting; it's more common now than when I started," he says of fans singing along. "Maybe it's just my memory, but over the years it's increased, which keeps me inspired to move forward."

Beck says his latest album—Colors, due out October 13—was made with the live environment in mind.

"It's an interesting relationship because you're out there with an audience, and you get reminded about what it's about. Like, 'Why are we doing this? Oh yeah! This is what it's about.'

"For me, it gave me the feeling of, 'Well, I want songs that give you that feeling; whatever that is. It's something slightly—there's not really a word for it; that's why you write songs for it."